What's left is not right
by Lida Vacha
Summary: Riddick is a mercenary whose mind is filled with riddles, secrets, and pieces of him that he's locked away. Someone wants that information and will not stop until they get it. But have Riddick's dreams become his reality or is he already in reality? R
1. His mark

Bass that thrums through your veins, music that speaks to your soul, people that dance and let go. That's where the silver eyes found themselves. The man whose eyes rivaled liquid silver in color and clarity watched from the darkest corner as he silently sharpened his shiv. Being a mercenary wasn't his first choice, but when he'd been faced with the choice of either killing for money or being imprisoned in the most secure facility to date, he chose to be a mercenary. The money wasn't bad and his non-existent emotions made him the most efficient man in his field.

As one song faded into the next, the man spotted his target. Her arms were decorated with tribal tattoos and colorful plastic bracelets and she seemed perfect. Perfectly harmless, that was. The girl weighed less than half of the man's weight and she carried herself with such a timid demeanor that at first the man mistook it for true shyness. It was only after watching her for a moment that he realized that the small-framed girl was, in fact, his mark. Her timid demeanor was a mask for something stronger and deadlier than the man had originally assumed. He caught her eye from across the thrumming dance floor and held her gaze. Like a frightened gazelle, she acknowledged that she was dead where she stood. She held his gaze for a moment before slowly backing towards the doors. Movement to her left startled her and the man saw, with some dismay, that another mercenary was making his way towards her. This second man had no tact and no skill in blending in and now he was about to ruin the silver-eyed one's mark. The girl fled to her right, knocking a tray of alcoholic drinks out of the hands of a waiter on her way. She dodged between the tables and threw herself over the rails and onto the dance floor. Both men lost sight of her for a moment but the silver-eyed one got a visual on his mark just as she slipped through a small door under the stage. He calmly made his way around to the side entrance and slipped under the stage as well.

The sound of frantic panting made him think of her as a rabbit and himself as a wolf. Under the stage everything was muffled except for her breathing and the sounds of her frenzy. The silver-eyed man breathed out slowly and caught the sound of a locked door being rattled dead ahead of him.

"It's no use running." His voice stopped the girl in her tracks and he heard the breath catch in her chest.

"J'ai entendu parler de vous." Her voice was pitched in fear. "C'est inutile de prier pour ma vie." Her French stopped the man for a moment as her words translated in his mind. She had heard of him and she wasn't going to beg for her life like so many others had. She knew it was a fruitless effort.

"Well, that'll save me the time of telling you that begging won't help you." He responded flatly. The man advanced and pushed aside the curtain of ropes that separated him from his mark.

The girl stood there, unarmed and unafraid. The air was thick with her previous fear, but something about the fact that he was the one that was before her had calmed her and erased her fear. The man took a moment to examine his mark. Her face was angular in a way that could be beautiful if she made an effort. With no effort, she was still pretty, but in a natural way. She was petite, but very obviously toned. It almost made him feel bad that he would have to kill a specimen such as her. When his gaze made it past her shoulders and to her eyes, he was thrown a bit at the lack of fear there. It was as if she had accepted her death and now faced it openly.

"Why aren't you afraid? I'm here to kill you." The silver-eyed man told her, whilst baring his shiv.

"Je sais. Mais vous aurez simplement à le faire et rein d'autre. Je n'ai pas peur de la mort." She replied.

"Translation?" The man asked with an air of exasperation. The girl nodded with a small smile on her face.

"I said I know that you are here to kill me. But I am not afraid because you will only kill me and it is not death that I fear." The girl slowly exhaled and then added, "So if you are here to kill me then do so. I have locked your competition outside and he will not get inside in time to kill me himself." The girl's eyes fluttered closed and she simply stood there waiting for death.

The silver eyed man had heard that on occasion a mercenary would torture or rape his victim. It usually happened with the less prominent marks or the more careless mercs. The fact that this girl was more afraid of pain then death struck the man as odd, but he shrugged it off.

"Well, let's get this show over with then." He said and then struck out at her with a closed fist and a sharp shiv. He felt contact with her face for only a moment before he was thrown backwards with a force that could not have come from the girl. The man opened his eyes and saw a brightly illuminated figure briefly before he blacked out.


	2. Babysitting

When the silver-eyed man awoke, he was still under the stage but it was dark and silent all around. The once locked door in front of him was wide open and the girl was gone. The only clue left was a scorch mark near where she had stood. The man had no idea how long he had been unconscious and as he began to regain his clarity, he checked himself for serious injuries. Aside from a cracked rib, the man was only a little banged up.

"What happened?" He asked the silence before stealing away into the night through the open door. He slid through the city like a shadow and was in his week-to-week leased apartment before long. The man set his jacket across the leather couch and tossed his belongings onto the cheap kitchen table. He didn't bother with the lights because he could see in the dark. The man opened the fridge and fished out last night's leftovers. After warming them up in the built in microwave, he sat down and flipped open a folder that was on the table. The girl's face stared up at him from a security camera still and he pulled this picture out. "What are you?" He questioned the picture. Obviously not expecting a response, he just stared at it for a moment before once more going through the contents of the folder. Now that she knew she had a tail, she would most likely drop system and hide somewhere for a while. The silver-eyed man had never lost a mark before and something like disappointment and rage made itself known in the pit of his emotions. How had she gotten away? What had thrown him back? Was there something about her that was still a mystery? Some unknown factor that had saved her life?

A knock on the door woke the man from a sleep he hadn't even known he'd been in. His injuries must've been more severe than he'd thought for him to fall into a true sleep. The man looked through the view-port in the door before unlocking it and revealing the land lord.

"Mister Richardson? Your rent is due." The portly man said. "It's almost 3pm and if it's not paid by then, you'll have to leave the premises."

The sliver-eyed man said nothing as he dug out a wad of bills from his pocket and shoved a wad of cash into the landlord's hand. The landlord counted out the money and then left the man with a receipt for two weeks paid rent. The man closed the door and returned to the kitchen where something out of the ordinary caught his eye. On top of the folder was a blue post-it.

"Je n'ai pas peur de vous." It read. The man realized at once that while he'd slept the girl must have found him and broken in. Why she hadn't killed him was a mystery that the man pondered while he searched his apartment for any signs of something missing or any clues that she may have left. How she had gotten into his place without setting off any of his senses unnerved him and only added to the anger he felt as missing his mark. Once he confirmed that the note was the only thing she had left, he relaxed minutely. He read the note over again and smirked.

"So you're not afraid of me then." He mused. "That's a refreshing change." The man grabbed his jacket and shivs and left the apartment to seek out a different mark. It was easier for him to plan when he was doing his job. He stalked out his new mark, struck the man down and returned home a few hours before sunset. He had just enough time to pour himself over the girl's file and call in his earlier kill. Shortly before he left for the night, he confirmed payment into his account and then locked up his apartment.

The sliver-eyed man stole into the shadows and once-more began to stalk his prey. She had left a note that suggested that she would still be in system and he would be able to find her. The man returned to the club from the night before and only had to stay for a moment before he knew she wasn't there. He checked his mental list of her other hangouts and visited them one by one. As the night wore on and each of her hangouts turned up empty, he began to think that the girl actually had dropped system and was in hiding. He was about to call it a night when he finally found a trail. He was in a warehouse district where parties and street-races were common when he caught a whiff of fear and adrenaline on the wind. It was her, he was sure. The man searched the premises and finally spotted her again. This time she was mid-fight with a man twice her size, but she was winning. The silver-eyed man recognized the man as the other bounty hunter from last night and he resolved to remove his competition. The girl turned her back to the man and ran up the side of a warehouse, only to launch herself off and draw a set of shivs as she flipped over the man. She sliced through his aorta and kicked him into the wall before catching sight of the silver-eyed man and bolting. The man knew that her attacker was bleeding out and still he darted after her. She wove through buildings and was halfway through a window when he caught her by the ankle and ripped her out. She fell on the ground and immediately began to fight. The silver-eyed man pinned her down easily and was about to end her life when the phone in his pocket rang. He looked down at the girl and backhanded her. She slipped into unconsciousness as he flipped the phone open.

"What?" He barked into the receiver.

"I'm calling you off." The voice of his employer answered.

"No deal. I'm about to finish."

"You'll get your money, but the warrant was recalled."

"Bullshit."

"Bring her alive."

"I'm not a babysitter."

The receiver clicked on the other end and the silver-eyed man closed the phone. He looked down at the girl and growled in frustration before throwing her limp body over his shoulder and disappearing into the night. If her reward wasn't so large he would've just left her there, but he needed the money. He hailed a cab a block away and slid her inside before following and leaning her against himself. The cab driver looked in the rearview mirror and raised an eyebrow.

"Too much to drink." The silver-eyed man said flatly. The cab driver nodded and then took the man and the girl back to the man's apartment. The man paid the cab driver and carried the girl into his apartment. He tossed her onto his bed before retrieving leather restraints from a bag under the bed. He tied the girl to the bed and then sat in the chair in the corner. There was nothing to be done until she woke up and he had word of where to bring her. The man sighed and dozed off.


	3. Not too terribly different

"Donc, vous n'êtes pas différent alors." The silver-eyed man woke to these words being said softly and with a tinge of fear. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl, whose face was turned to him. She pulled against the restraints and said, "You're no different at all."

The man rose and crossed the room. He felt a shift in the girl's emotions and registered that they went from mild fear to complete terror. His increasing proximity was causing her fear to rise. The air conditioning kicked in and blew the scent of fear and something else into the man's face. He paused for a moment before smirking. He leaned over the girl and slid his hand down her stomach. The fear and the other scent increased as his hand slid still lower. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and leaned down into her neck before murmuring, "This turns you on."

He left as a statement and not a question because he knew he was right. The girl was exuding fear and arousal all at once. The combined scent spoke to a carnal urge in the silver-eyed man and he growled lowly before standing up and leaving the room. The air had become hard to breathe in and he wasn't about to let his guard down just to satisfy himself. He glanced back at the helpless girl bound to the bed and said, "I'd break you." Before closing the door behind him and going out for a walk.

When the man returned to the apartment and went into the bedroom, he found the girl asleep. The room still smelled of fear and lust, but it was just a faint trace of what it had been earlier. He'd gotten a call from his employer and was told to hold onto the girl until a place could be arranged for drop-off. In exchange for babysitting the girl, he was going to be paid weekly to care for her. Apparently there had been a coup d'état in the system where she was originally supposed to be taken and the civil unrest would only help her escape again. He looked down at the girl once more and was surprised to find a pair of hazel eyes staring back at him.

"I dreamt of you." She said with a sultry tone.

"Oh?" He replied without showing emotion. The air was steadily becoming thick with lust again.

"Yes. I dreamt that I slit your throat while you fucked me on this bed."

The man looked down at the girl and found a coy smile on her face. She wasn't joking and suddenly the tension in the room was thick and heavy.

"Not going to happen, Arielle." The man said flatly. Controlling himself was becoming unusually difficult around this girl and he swallowed his lust before opening the window to clear his head.

"You sure about that?" Arielle asked before slipping from her restraints and sliding off of the bed. The silver-eyed man turned just in time to avoid a shiv to the back and catch Arielle's wrist. He grabbed her neck and slammed her into the wall out of reflex before pinning her there and disarming her. She started to chuckle and the man threw her back onto the bed.

"You think you're slick? You think you're funny?" He growled angrily while throwing her back into the restraints and tightening them until the skin around the bindings turned white with pressure. Arielle thrashed around until she was immobilized by another backhand to the face. She lay there with a shocked look on her face and suddenly the room filled with the smell of her fear. The silver-eyed man dipped his head into her neck and inhaled deeply. When he exhaled, it came out as a growl. The girl had a moment to register that the air in the room had changed before she felt the cool air across her torso and cold steel against her naval.

"Arrêtez l'alarme!" Arielle shrieked. Her screams became muffled when the man covered her mouth with his large tanned hand. He stared into her hazel eyes with his liquid silver ones and the fear in the room hung heavier in the air. "Stop it! Stop!" Arielle screamed from behind the man's hand. She twisted her head rapidly to the side and broke away long enough to issue a short scream before the man had her by the throat and was cutting off her air. She gasped frantically as she tried to breathe.

The silver-eyed man felt his muscles tighten and he fished under the bed, with his foot, for the bag that had held the restraints. He found it and brought it up. He dropped the bag on Arielle's stomach and pulled a horse-bit gag from within. The bag was tossed aside and the man shoved the bit into the girl's mouth before releasing her throat and securing the gag behind her head. She screamed once again, but it did nothing but arouse the man. Something within him warned him not to do what his animal side wanted. The only thing that was left of his human side told him that raping this girl wasn't the answer. But she smelled so good and the scent of her fear mixed with his arousal and it was overpowering. Just as he was about to cut Arielle's jeans off, his phone rang. Tempted as he was to ignore it, he knew it could be another mark. Another mark meant more money. Another mark meant getting away from that wretched girl and her bullshit. He growled and slid away from Arielle while fishing the phone out of his pocket. He stepped outside the door and closed it almost all the way before flipping the phone open.

"Go."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said from the other end.

"And what is it you wouldn't do if you were me?" The man asked. The voice was almost familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Don't hurt that girl anymore."

The man stopped. Who was this that knew what was happening? Who knew his personal number and knew about the girl?

"Who is this?"

"That's not important. What is important is that you do not harm that girl anymore than you already have…Riddick."

The phone clicked and went dead before Riddick could respond. He shut his phone with an angry snap and threw the door to his bedroom open. Arielle lay there with tears streaming down her cheeks and her arms and legs were losing circulation. Riddick looked at what he'd done to the girl and felt a twinge of guilt. It was smothered out before it could grow and Riddick entered the room and shut the door firmly behind him.

"Someone just saved your life." He told her.

Arielle did nothing but fall silent. The tears still fell from her eyes, but she no longer screamed or begged. Riddick crossed the room and grabbed her by the hair. He yanked her head up and removed the gag with one hand. When he dropped her head back, she closed her mouth and whimpered softly. Riddick glanced at her restraints and said,

"If you try that shit again, I'm not going to stop. I'm going to do what I want. Understood?"

Arielle nodded and stayed silent. Riddick reached over and loosened the restraints enough that the girl could get out of them. Arielle wiggled out and curled into a ball at the head of the bed. She nursed her bruised wrists and looked up at Riddick through a curtain of hair. When he turned his back on her, she didn't make a move. In fact, Arielle didn't move for two hours afterward. When Riddick returned to the room, it was only to make sure she hadn't slipped out the window. When he saw her staring blankly at the closet, he grabbed her up by the arms and dragged her out into the kitchen. He dropped her into a chair and set a plate of leftover chicken and pasta on the table in front of her. She picked up the fork beside the plate and ate in silence. Halfway through the meal, they both looked up at one another and Riddick saw the bruising on her face from where the bit had been. Arielle looked like she had been beaten, which he reminded himself, she kind of had.


	4. Better Off Dead

"At least you're not dead." He said flatly. She nodded and disposed of her plate before sitting back at the table. Riddick looked at the clock and then dropped his leftovers in the trash and the plate in the sink. "I've got work to do. If you even think about leaving the apartment, I will hunt you down and make you regret it." He didn't wait for an answer before going out and locking up behind him.

Riddick returned a few hours later and found the front door unlocked. His guard went up and he listened for any sign that there was an intruder. When he was satisfied that it was safe to enter, he did so and closed the door behind him. With swift fingers he locked the door behind him as an idea popped into his head. "She left." He growled. Why else would the house be unlocked? He searched his apartment for the girl and when Arielle turned up missing, he swore and threw open the front door. Arielle jumped back in surprise and then fear began to radiate off of her in waves. Riddick snatched her arm and threw her into the house behind him.

"I told you not to leave!" He barked. Riddick snatched Arielle up and threw her onto the couch. He crossed the room in two strides and withdrew his shiv. "Didn't I!"

"I was…" Arielle began to explain herself when she was silenced with a backhand to the mouth. She pulled away with blood dripping from her now busted lip. Riddick pinned her to the couch and began to rip at her clothes. She screamed and then he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shut up! I told you not to leave!" He growled in her ear.

Arielle took a chance and bit down on Riddick's hand whilst elbowing him in his cracked rib. Riddick groaned in pain and pulled back enough that Arielle was able to wiggle free and take off running. She ran into the bedroom and almost had the door closed when Riddick came barreling through it. The force knocked Arielle to the floor where Riddick pinned her by the neck with one hand. He shut the door with a kick of his foot and then threw the girl onto the bed and fought her into the restraints and the gag.

"This will make things much easier." He growled darkly. "I told you not to leave." His voice had gone from yelling to a deadly calm. The change frightened Arielle and she tried to explain herself through the gag. Riddick wouldn't even listen and she earned herself a slap to the face when she tried to explain things. Arielle began to cry and beg as Riddick ripped her jeans down to her ankles and unbelted his own pants. She struggled against the restraints to no avail and begged him to just stop and listen, but he wouldn't.

"This is for leaving." He growled before forcing himself inside her.

Arielle screamed in pain and began to thrash hard enough that Riddick was forced to pin her down again as he continued to thrust himself deeper and harder into her. Arielle gave up fighting soon enough and just laid still while silent tears fell down her face.

"God you're tight." Riddick moaned. He lowered his face to Arielle's and added, "And you're so wet." He tore into her a few more times before he felt the release he was searching for. Riddick groaned and thrust once more before sliding out of Arielle and putting himself back in his pants. He zipped them up and looked down at the girl before leaving the room without another word.


	5. Baise Moi

The next morning, Riddick woke up and rolled off the couch. The smell of blood hit him before anything else and he immediately went into his bedroom. Arielle was still there, strapped to the bed and naked from the waist down. Riddick took one long look at her and instantly felt guilt for what he'd done the night before. Her face, neck, wrists and legs were covered in bruises, her lip was swollen and bloody and she had a black eye. As Riddick drew closer to the bed he saw that Arielle's nose was bleeding fresh blood and there was dried blood and fluids between her legs. All in all Riddick had done a number on the girl and for the first time in his life, he felt bad about it.

"Arielle." Riddick called softly. "Arielle, are you awake?" His question was answered by the girl's body shuddering and choking noises issuing from her throat. Riddick took a step towards the bed and then stepped back as Arielle began spitting out the blood she was choking on. After a moment he stepped forward again and undid the restraints. The leather dropped to the floor and Riddick lifted Arielle into a sitting position. Her eyes opened drowsily and she spat blood onto her lap before whimpering softly. Riddick grabbed a wad of the sheets and pressed them against Arielle's face to stop the blood from her nose.

"Mmmfp." She moaned weakly from behind the sheets. Riddick pulled them away and looked at her. "My…medicine."

"What?" Riddick asked. "Where is it?"

"By the door." She whispered weakly.

Riddick dropped the sheets and moved into the main room. By his front door, where he'd snatched Arielle inside the night before, there was a black bag. Riddick rifled through this bag and realized that it had a few spare clothes and several bottles and vials of medicine. Not knowing which one Arielle needed, he brought the whole bag to her. When Riddick gave the bag to the sickly girl, she pulled out a small case from the pocket. Inside the case were several small syringes filled with clear golden liquid. Arielle took one of these syringes and jabbed it into her leg. Minutes later, the blood running from her nose slowed and her breathing became more regular. Riddick sat by and watched as she swallowed pills and injected fluids. After a long moment, Arielle finally stopped and pushed the bag away from her. She took a few deep breaths and then opened her eyes to look at Riddick.

"I tried to tell you." She said before sliding off the bed, pulling her pants back on and getting unsteadily to her feet. Arielle stumbled into the bathroom and started to try and clean herself up.

"You should've tried harder." Riddick said, resuming his cold nature.

Arielle spun around with fury in her eyes and lunged at Riddick. She managed to get a decent punch to his face and another to the cracked rib before he slammed her to the floor.

"Tried harder!" She screeched. "I fucking fought to tell you!" She tried to lunge at him again and was tossed aside once more.

"You didn't try hard enough."

"Oh well I'm sorry I didn't beat the shit out of you and tie you down before I told you!" She spat venomously. "Next time I'll make sure you're on the receiving end of the pain and shame."

With that, Arielle threw herself into the bathroom and locked the door. Riddick slammed his hand flat against it and warned,

"If you leave, it'll be worse next time."

With that, he turned and left the room. The day went by with Riddick and Arielle ignoring each other and the tension growing in the room. Finally, Riddick left for his nightly mark and Arielle was left alone in the apartment. When Riddick returned at dawn, he once more found the door unlocked and automatically assumed the worst. His rage flared as he checked the house for Arielle. When his first round turned up empty, he went back into the bedroom for his shivs. Dead or alive was the original warrant for the girl. He would rather deliver her dead than have to deal with chasing her down like a child every night. When Riddick opened the bedroom door, he saw Arielle lying on the bed wearing a silky short nightgown. She looked up at Riddick with a sultry gaze and smirked.

"I left." She said tauntingly. "You gonna punish me?" The air in the room suddenly became thick with lust and a carnal desire to mate.

Riddick growled and pulled his shirt over his head before striding to the bed. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" With that, he flopped onto the other side of the bed and closed his eyes. He felt a shift in the air and opened his eyes to see his own shiv glinting menacingly over his throat. With lightning reflexes, he grabbed Arielle's wrist and sat up, giving himself better control of the small girl. Ariella laughed and tossed the shiv aside with a flick of her fingers.

"Kidding." She grinned before pushing against Riddick with a surprising amount of strength. Riddick rolled backwards and took her with him. The result of which was Arielle mounted atop Riddick's torso. Riddick watched as she leaned down and then he felt the brush of soft lips against his neck. Was she kissing him? He wasn't sure but he knew he didn't deserve anything like a kiss from her…not with the way he'd treated her the night before. Riddick pulled away when he felt the press of her lips against his own.

"You're twisted." He growled before rolling and throwing Arielle off of him. Riddick stood up on the other side of the bed and looked down at the almost naked woman in front of him. Aside from the bruises he'd caused, she was beautiful. He didn't take his time looking at her before and now he realized that he'd overlooked the swell of her breasts and the way her stomach sloped down gently.

"Hello? Kidnapper-Rapist? You in there?" Arielle's voice brought Riddick back to reality and he realized that he had been staring at her for longer than he should have. She'd moved to the edge of the bed and was kneeling in front of him now. "Oh good." She said and caressed his bare chest. "You are alive in there." She trailed her hand down Riddick's arm and moved his hand to her bare thigh before guiding it upwards, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything beneath the nightgown. Riddick growled and leaned into Arielle until she fell against the bed. His hand continued to slide up her body and he grabbed a handful of her breast before growling softly.

"What's the catch?" He murmured into her ear. She shook her head and let out a tiny gasp of pleasure.

"No catch." She replied with lust lacing every word.

Riddick looked into her eyes and then lifted the silky fabric over her head and cast it to the floor. His hands roamed her body, drawing moans of pleasure from her, while her hands searched lower for the button of his pants. She found it and popped it open and, with a little wiggling, Riddick's full manhood sprung forth. Arielle looked down and grinned. Riddick bit her neck gently while he positioned himself at her entrance. Just before he plunged his length into her, Riddick pressed his lips against Arielle's. When he slid inside of her, he felt he moan leave her throat and vibrate against his lips.

"Oh god, yes." She moaned breathlessly.

"You like that, don't you?"

"Oh mon dieu, oui." She breathed in French. "Baise-moi!"

Riddick growled and began to speed up and slam into the small girl with more force. Soon he was drawing screams of pleasure and moans of ecstasy from Arielle as she writhed around. He felt when her muscles tightened around his delicate parts and it wasn't too long afterwards that he felt his release. Riddick growled and pulled the girl into him as he rolled over and threw a blanket over them. He held her close and the two of them drifted off to sleep.


End file.
